Honor guard for the Usk prison officer who died after contracting coronavirus

A prison officer who died after contracting coronavirus received an honor guard from his colleagues.

Rachael Yates was 33 years old and worked as in the Usk prison in Monmouthshire. He was the fourth member of the prison staff in the UK to be known to have died after contracting the virus.

Ms. Yates’ funeral included a procession through Usk Square where members of the public applauded in her honor as her coffin passed through the city.

His colleagues also trained an honor guard outside the prison where he worked.

Speaking to the BBC, Yates’ mother, Julie Jacques, said “worst of all” was that her family was unable to say goodbye after she became ill.

“I just want people to be aware that this can happen to anyone, and they must remember social estrangement. We should never have these problems in our world in 2020,” he said.

Ms. Yates’ family had given permission for the media to attend the funeral procession.

The Association of Prison Officials (POA) described his death as “tragic”.

POA National President Mark Fairhurst said: “It is a tragic death of a very young person who was new to the service. My heart goes out to her family, friends and everyone who knew her.”

The Justice Ministry previously confirmed that a 33-year-old woman in HMP Usk had died.

HMP Usk Governor Giles Mason said: “Rachael was a valuable and dedicated member of the HMP Usk team.

“We are going to miss her and now she is in our hearts and thoughts.”

A Prison Service spokesman said: “An HMP Usk officer sadly passed away on April 21, and our deepest condolences go out to his loved ones and colleagues at this difficult time.”

The Usk City Council shared a tribute to Ms. Yates on Facebook and said that she had previously worked at the city post office.

It said, “Many of you will remember Rachael and her joyous nature working alongside Jane behind the counter at the old post office on Bridge Street, often in Victorian costume, and some of you have recently seen her in Usk, where she had been working .. in Usk prison.

“Our thoughts are closely related to his family at this sad time.”

HMP Usk is a category C prison and has around 280 male inmates.